In the aftermath
by CrazyC00kie
Summary: Gabriel needs comfort after Raphael died. Slash Gabriel/Crowley.


Where is that damned archangel when you need him? Castiel had just crewed him over big time and Gabriel was nowhere to be seen.

First Castiel broke their arrangement to split the souls in Purgatory between them and now the little bugger stole all of his souls and threatened to kill him.

Crowley stood there, facing Castiel on his own with only Raphael beside him, who wouldn't lift a finger to protect the King of Hell. Where the hell was Gabriel when you needed him? Bloody archangel!

Storming home enraged, Crowley turned the entire house upside down to find the coward. Where else would you expect to find a rebellious archangel, who pretended to be dead – now twice already – other than in the bedroom, huddled under tons of blankets.

"Where the HELL were you? You morron!", bellowed Crowley, flinging the bedroom door open with a wave of his power. "Your little brother declared himself God, threatened to end my existents and what are you doing? Playing hide and seek and cuddle-land!"

"Go away", whined a pitiful voice from somewhere amongst the pillow fortress.

"If you don't show yourself right now, I will drag your sorry ass out of bed and then you have some explaining to do!"

A mob of unruly ruffled hair peaked out from the blankets. Two sorrowful eyes, hidden beneath the layers of hair threw a faint glance at the demon and disappeared again.

"Leave me alone you arrogant little self-centred prick", snapped Gabriel's voice from somewhere in the bed.

Crowley, the demon he is had enough of Gabriel's games and made good to his promise. I one fluent movement he buried himself in the bed, looking underneath all the blankets and pillows for the hiding archangel.

And he found him.

But it was not the Gabriel he expected to find, not the smug, arrogant archangel, with a permanent smile plastered to his face. Not the funny archangel he adored so much. This was something different.

Gabriel looked at him out of swollen red eyes, dried tear streams ran down his face and his hair fell messed up in his face.

This got Crowley's attention.

His anger and rage seemed to evaporate for some strange reason he couldn't explain and a big lump build in his chest. He felt sick and couldn't say why.

What the hell ways going on with him?

"Gabriel?" he asked tentatively, his voice shaking as he reached a hand out to touch his lover. He didn't know what was going on or what to do, so he placed his hand back on the mattress.

"What's wrong?"

Gabriel finally opened his eyes, but instead of answering Crowley found himself all of a sudden with an armful of crying archangel.

"Hold me" Gabriel whispered, seeking comfort in the demons strong arms.

Uncertainly Crowley closed his arms around the pitiful angel, holding him close in a tight embrace.

He could feel Gabriel's chest heaving and falling, his entire body shaking with sobs, and he had no idea what to do.

Gabriel huddled even closer, now that he was in his lover's embrace. He seeked desperately for some kind of touch.

He seemed contend for the moment just to be close to Crowley. It took a while before Gabriel finally answered the initial question.

"He is dead", Gabriel's voice was nothing more than a hushed whisper, too quiet to be heard by any normal human ear. "I felt him die." A new wave of tear hit Gabriel. He no longer tried to hide them, he just let go, falling apart in Crowley's arms.

"So many of my brethren died over the past year, they fought in the apocalypse and died. But there were only angels... Raphael... feeling an archangel die is so much worse. When Michael died I was prepared, I had shielded myself away to stop from getting hurt by every single on of them perishing. I wasn't prepared for Raphael to disappear like that. It hurts... like there is a huge Archangel shaped hole in my heart. I want it to stop, please Crowley make it stop hurting."

"How?", questioned Crowley desperate. He wanted nothing more then to take the pain and the hurt away from this beautiful creature and put a smile back on his face but he didn't know how. What do you do when someone you care about is in pain. He was a demon, the one who inflicted pain not took it away.

"Just be here", pleaded Gabriel, huddling even close to the demon, holding on to every bit of comfort he could get.

"Of course darling", assured Crowley him, placing a chase kiss on his temple.

They sat like this for what felt like ages. Crowley leaned back with his back to the wall and Gabriel cuddled into a tight ball in his lap, weeping from time to time. Whenever he felt like choking, Crowley placed light kissed all over his face to calm him down again.

They fell asleep like this.

When the next morning came, Crowley's neck felt stiff and every muscle in his back hurt but he felt a strange kind of serenity seeing Gabriel draped over his lap, snoring lightly with a huge grin plastered over his face.


End file.
